Once an Angel
by SimplyBit
Summary: He called her an angel... and his love. In 1760's England, three daring sisters defy the conventions of their day-by boldly taking to the sea to champion noble causes. Each will meet a man who embraces both her beauty and her proud spirit. And each will..
1. Prologue

Ok, I'm going to put the Disclaimer in the _last_ chapter...

Summary: In 1760's England, three daring sisters defy the conventions of their day-by boldly taking to the sea to champion noble causes. Each will meet a man who embraces both her beauty and her proud spirit. And each will find a love more precious than any pirate's treasure... THE HEART NEVER FORGETS Kagome Higurashi's turbulant childhood had made her certain of one thing: she would wed for security, even if it meant a loveless marriage to a wealthy Boston merchant. But her plans quickly went awry when the ship carrying her to her intended was raided by pirates-led by the only man she ever loved. Five years had passes since their swahbuckling days together, when Sesshomaru Tashio had treated her as little more than a younger sister. Now he's smuggling goods for the rebels of the American Revolution-and inspiring a shared passion as intense as the war that rages all around them. Still, Kagome has been promised to another-and she knows that her beloved Sesshomaru can never give her the security she yearns for. If only her heart would believe it...

Okay, on with it then...

**Prologue**

_1774_

Stone-hard pews, nearly filled to capacity, lined the majestic nave like soldiers ready for battle. Not a soul dared speak: not here. The air rumbled with a sound that was not quite a sound, like the hum of a thousand hushed voices all whispering prayers. Tall, paned windows, twenty feet above the marble floor, lined each side of the imposing room, allowing misty English light to filter in. Colorful banners hung below the windows, one to represent each family present, and the daughter they'd come to see.

Waiting in the hallway, Kagome Higurashi spotted her flag, a fierce lion on a field of red, his paw raised in defense, and felt her heart flip against her chest. Not her flag exactly, but one she could claim because of her sister's marriage. Gripping her hands at her waist to keep them from shaking, she took her place in line, the last of the thirty-two women, all years younger than her. She tried to ignore the hurt she felt at the sight. _Being last does not mean I'm the least important._

But, however much she wanted to ignore it, she knew an effort when faced with one-she should, she thought, straightening a perfect pleat in her soft black wool gown, identical to the ones the other girls wore. She'd had four years of experience of being spurned. She's quickly learned that Wilmouth School for Girls wasn't for the faint of heart. It hadn't mattered that she'd surpassed the other students in their lessons, perfecting her French, excelling at writing and numbers, even though those skills hadn't been encouraged. The harder she'd tried to fit in, the more of an outcast she'd become.

Kagome shut the disparaging thoughts away. Her schoolmates hadn't meant to be cruel. They simply didn't know any better. One glance at the row of women ahead of her, with their delicate hand and perfect skin, women who knew nothing of struggling to survive, and she knew her achievements weren't the reason she'd been ostracized. It was because of who she was, and _what_ she was, that had kept her from ever belonging. Her blood wasn't noble, but common-worse than common-with the smell of a fisherman's daughter and the taint of a pirate.

She touched the hated _Sea Queen_ dagger she secretly wore strapped to her thigh and inwardly cringed. She felt the gold-wrought hilt, the embedded thumb-size gems that shimmered like fire when held to the light. If she'd had her way the dagger would be lying at the bottom of the ocean where it belonged. She only wore it now because of Sango's infernal nagging, blast her sister. If her classmates learned if it she'd be ruined, this time forever.

Shuddering, she straightened her shoulders and forced her thoughts to brighten. Against all odds, she'd persevered-surviving poverty, near starvation, a possible hanging, years of arduous study. Finally, today was her graduation.

She allowed a smile that felt good on her lips. The future she'd hoped for was finally within her reach. After today, she would be a real lady. Not only one her sisters, Kikyo and Sango, could be proud of, but a _lady_ any man would covet as his wife. The rest of her dream would follow soon after: a home full of children she would love, and security-two things no one could take from her or tear apart.

"What are your plans after reception, Kagome?" Kanna Kori whispered. The petite young woman smoothed her hand over white-blonde hair that was arranged in perfect curls.

Smiling at the girl she'd once believed to be her friend, she said, "I'm returning to my sister's town house in London."

Kagura Akurei glanced over her narrow shoulder and arched a brow the color of dull wood, the same as the hair she ruthlessly braided and coiled around her head. She had sharp-boned cheeks and a full, pouty mouth that wasn't prone to smile. If not for her large, Almond-shaped brown eyes she would have been plain. "I daresay you're not going to town for the season."

"Well..."

"Don't be silly, Kagura," Kanna interjected, stifling a giggle. "Kagome is _twenty-four_."

Sucking in a breath, Kagome stiffened her back, and then silently chided herself for reacting at all. _They aren't trying to be unkind. They're only stating a truth._

The women-both eighteen and in their prime for marriage-exchanged amused glances before Kanna said, "Perhaps I'll find time to visit you, Kagome. I'll be in London as well. Not finding a husband, of course."

"I can't believe you're marrying an earl. I'm so envious," Kagura confided, her pale cheeks flushing red.

"Your day will come, and sooner than you might imagine," Kanna declared, sparing Kagome a pity glance. "Kagura, if you aren't engaged to an earl either a month, I'll set mama to the task. Just name the Aristocrat you want and she'll see you have him."

"What about you, Kagome?" Kagura's brown eye's flickered like broken glass. "Do you have any prospects? Your brother-in-law is in shipping, is he not? Perhaps he knows a merchant who is looking for a wife."

A merchant, not a nobleman. Kagura was the daughter of a lowly baron, but she was still a thousand steps above Kagome. She gripped her hands together until her fingers ached. Was it wrong of her to want a titled husband? One with land and income that would secure her future, protect her from whatever crisis might surround them? _Give me the kind of home I had as a child before everything was ripped away?_

"I haven't been as lucky as Kanna," Kagome Conceded.

The brown-haired woman sniffed. "I won't need Kanna's mothers help me find a husband. I'll undoubtedly snatch one up long before you."

Kagome said a silent prayer of thanks that Sango hadn't heard Kagura's venomous tone. If she had, the young woman would have found herself face-first on the ground with Sango's knee in her back, digging in until Kagura Apologized. But Kagome had never been so bold: confrontations made her stomach ache.

Smiling when she really wanted to turn away, she murmured, "I'm sure you'll find a wonderful husband."

A mischievous light glimmered in Kanna's leaf-green eyes. "What say you to a wager? Whichever one of you becomes engaged first wins."

"Wins what?" Kagura asked.

Kanna giggled, a shrill, childish sound that made Kagome wince. "Her position in society, of course."

Kagome wanted to tell them they were being foolish. Once society learned of the wager, the loser would be humiliated. Besides, ladies did not gamble, and certainly not on finding a husband!

"Do we have a wager?" Kanna asked.

"It's scandalous." Kagura's mouth twitched with an excited grin.

"You can't be serious." Kagome tried to laugh but failed.

"Can't I?" Kanna drew her shoulders back. "To prove how serious I am, I'll have my mama host a ball to present whichever one of you gets engaged first. And you know _everyone_ attends my mama's balls."

Kagura's eyes glowed as if envisioning herself a bride-to-be, with every nobleman within a hundred miles wishing to be her felicitations.

_The ball doesn't matter. Unless . . . unless it secures the things I want most-a home of my own, and children._

She didn't add love to her list. She'd loved a man once, for all her life it sometimes seemed, but he'd never returned her affections. And if he had, he couldn't, or perhaps wouldn't, give her the security she needed.

_But security isn't everything_, a voice in the back of her mind insisted. _I want to belong_. For eight years, ever since her sister Kikyo had married Hojo Shinzo, the earl of Leighton, Kagome had stood on the outer rim of society, flirting along the edge, without ever being a true part.

If she could find a man she cared for, one who was respected by England's elite, then the ruling class would have to accept her. She shook her head. There were no "ifs" about finding the man of her dreams. He was out there, waiting for her. She was certain about it.

The head mistress bustled in, shushing the girls and straightening their line. It was time for the ceremony to begin.

"Kanna," Kagome whispered as her classmates began their final walk down the nave, leaving their school years behind, in hopes of finding something better and new.

"Are you going to show the white feather?" the girl taunted. Kagura choked on a laugh.

"No." Kagome touched the _Sea Queen_ blade through her skirt. With a determination she hardly recognized, she vowed, "I'm going to win."


	2. Chapter One

Ok, I'm going to put the Disclaimer in the _last_ chapter...

Summary: In 1760's England, three daring sisters defy the conventions of their day-by boldly taking to the sea to champion noble causes. Each will meet a man who embraces both her beauty and her proud spirit. And each will find a love more precious than any pirate's treasure... THE HEART NEVER FORGETS Kagome Higurashi's turbulant childhood had made her certain of one thing: she would wed for security, even if it meant a loveless marriage to a wealthy Boston merchant. But her plans quickly went awry when the ship carrying her to her intended was raided by pirates-led by the only man she ever loved. Five years had passes since their swahbuckling days together, when Sesshomaru Tashio had treated her as little more than a younger sister. Now he's smuggling goods for the rebels of the American Revolution-and inspiring a shared passion as intense as the war that rages all around them. Still, Kagome has been promised to another-and she knows that her beloved Sesshomaru can never give her the security she yearns for. If only her heart would believe it...

Okay, on with it then...

**Chapter One**

_One year later_

Bleached canvas sails were raised, snapping taut, running the _Maiden Fair_ before the wind. The sun burned against a piercing blue sky, the color so rich and bold Kagome had forgotten such brilliance existed. London was a beautiful city, but it dwelled beneath a perpetual ashen cloud-soot from too many chimneys and the incassant belching of smokstacks. But out here, riding the waves in the middle of the world, the oceans glittered like hammered gold tossed about in handful after giant handful.

It had been eight years since she'd stood on the deck of a ship, felt the rhythmic rock of wood fighting sea, heardd the flap of sails, the siren cries of gulls. Smelled the salty spray the wet her tongue. She'd never thought that to experience those things again; had, in fact, vowed to _never_ experience then again. But here she was, on a ship by her own choosing, crossing the Atlantic and heading for her future. To the Americas, where her fiance awaited her.

She smiled and lifted her face into the warm breeze, letting the brackish air fill her lungs. She would have laughed out loud like a carefree child had it been proper, but since it wasn't she contented herself with simply smiling and reflecting on how unpredictable life could be. Disheartening one moment, meraculous the next.

A moan of pure agony drew her attention to the woman beside her. Frowning with worry, Kagome reached out, but quickly let her hand drop to her side. Once before she'd made the mistake of patting Kagura Akurei on the back and had recieved a tongue lashing for her effort. Life was not only unperdictable, it had a cruel sense of humor by confining her to Kagura's compamy for the five-week voyage to Boston.

"Did the dill weed tea I perpared for you not help?" Kagome asked, wincing whenthe woman's groan turned into a sucking gasp. The ship tipped leeward, then dropped into a stomach-clenching dive. Just as quickly, the deck righted itself to meet the next wave.

Holding onto the railing with a white-knuckled grip, Kagura shuddered, then clamped a shaking hand over her mouth. Lavender would have made a better remedy for seasickness, Kagome thought, troubled by the woman's continued illness, but there was none to be had on the _Maiden Fair_.

"Nothing will help except getting off this horrid ship." Kagura glared at Kagome as if faulting her for her wretched condition. Ever since they's sailed from London port three weeks past, Kagura's conplexion had been as green as her temper had been black. "I feel as if my stomach has twisted around my throat."

Her mouth pinche tight, and her face became even more drawn and pastly than before. Her brown hair, always perfectly smooth and coiled in the latest fashion, now clung in sweaty strands to her jaw and neck.

Though they had been far from being friends, Kagome couldn't help but feel sorry for the woman. Kagura hadn't wanted to make the voyage to the Americas. But after losing thier wager when Kagome was the first to become engaged, Lady Akurei thought it a grand idea for her daughter to take a trip abroad. Kagome had thought it odd that Lady Akurei had booked her daughter passage on the same ship that she sailed on. When she'd asked Kagura about the coincidence, she'd turned a cold shoulder and entered her cabin, slamming the door closed behind her.

"The cook might have some alfalfa," Kagome said to herself, clenching her hand to keep from reaching out to the woman. She couldn't stand to see anyone in pain-even someone who didn't like her. "I could make a-"

"Don't bother. I don't trust you or your tonics. You're probably trying to poison me."

Sighing, Kaogme contemplated the ocean once more, though it had suddenly lost its shimmer. She didn't fault Kagura for her spiteful remark. The woman had ben humiliated before all of England the night Kanna Kori hosted a ball announcing Kagome's engagement. Kanna had spoken the truth when she'd said everyone attended her mother's assemblies. Though secrectly, Kagura was partly blamed for her disgrace. Had the woman not baosted that she would find a husband while the poor, timid Kagome Gathered dust on the shelf, her loss might not have been so traumatic.

But Kagome had not only won the wager, she'd poured salt on Kagura wound by becoming engaged to the very man Kagura had set her sites on.

She bit down on her lip, still felling guilty over that fact. She'd met Lord Naraku Akuma, viscount of kensale, at a garden party Kikyo and Inuyasha had given. He'd arrived with Kagura and her family, making it clear that he'd intended to court her. But when Inuyasha had introduced Kagome to the viscount as his sister, the tides had turned. Within days, Lord Kensale had begun appearing at Inuyasha's home fior dinner, and on the grounds to accompany her on her afternoon walks. She'd discouraged his attentions, but her persistence, and his assurance that he had never intended to offer for Kagura, had worn her down. But the fact was, she'd had a hard time resisting his charm.

Naraku Akuma was the epitome of nobility with his blue blood, his heratage, his tall, lithe body and patrician nose. He had deep-set, blood-red eyes that had the power to capture and hold. His manners that were beyond impeccable. She still couldn't believe that he'd chosen her to be his wife. Her dowry of fifty-thousand pounds had swayed him heavily in her favor, of course. But it was the ties to Inuyasha's business in trade that Naraku valued most. Such a bond would undoubtedly help the shipbuilding enterprise he'd started in the colonies.

The arrangement didn't bother her in the least, at least not very much; they were both bringing things of value into the marriage. She a dowry and connections; he the security and respectability she craved.

Within two months, she would become viscountess of Kensale. Just the thought of how close her dream was from being fulfilled made her smile. She didn't know Naraku as well as she would have liked, nor did she love him-a fact that upset both her sisters, who werew madly in love with both their husbands and argued she shouldn't marry for anything less. But she liked him, just as he likes her. Caring would grow after time, and if they were lucky, love would follow.

Because of Naraku's schedule the wedding would take place in Medford, atown north of Boston, so all of Massachusetts's society could attend. It was almost too good to be true. Everything would be perfect. Even the name of her new home sounded like a fairy tale. White Rose. Naraku had assured her it was as beautiful and grand as its name.

Feeling her smile fade, she took a deep, fortifying breath. She would have felt better if her sisters had been able to make the trip eith her. But Sango was exspecting her first child, and her husband, Miroku, had refused to let her travel. Kikyo had stayed behind to see Dango through the birthing.

_The birth of a neice or nepfew I might never know._ She brushed the anxious thought away. She would see her family again, and when she did, she just might have her own baby to intorduce.

Lifting her face into the wind and closing her eyes, Kagome recalled the worry in Miroku's eye as he held onto his wife, afraid she might fall on the slippery dock when they'd come to see Kagome off. Would Naraku be so concerned for her?

She opened her eyes and blinked against the sharp rays of sunlight. She couldn't imagine her fiance fretting on her behalf. It took a man foolishly in love to behave so.

And she wasn'tmarrying for love; she refused to. At a young age she'd not only learned how dangerous life could be, she'd learned how much it hurt to love someone, desperately, with all her heart, and not have that love returned. If only Sesshomaru-

Stiffening her spine, Kagome cut off the thought, reminding herself that this was the beginning of the most wonderful time of her life; she was on the brink of having everything she ever wanted. She wouldn't spoil it by wishing for something that could never be.

"Admit it, Kagome," Kagura demanded as she clung to the ship's rail, fighting to stay on her feet. "You're enjoying my Disgrace."

"That's not true."

"You can stop your virtuous act. We're in the middle of a godforsaken ocean. It's time you showed your true colors."

"You don't feel well, Kagura. You don't know what you're saying."

"Don't I?" With a shaky laugh, she ran the back of her hand over her damp brow. "You can pretend to be one of us, but you can't disquise what you really are."

Kagome shook her head, wanting to stop whatever the eoman meant to say next. Though she could have guessed what was coming. Kagura knew about Kagome's past-as did all of England.

"You're a pirate." She spat the last word like a curse. "A thief. Why you and your sisters haven't been run out of England, Or beheaded, is beyond me."

"That's all in the past, Kagura. The king pardoned us," Kagome said, knowing the pardon could have come for God Himself and people like Kagura still wouldn't of cared.

Nor did they care about the reasons that had driven her and her sisters to pirating in the first place. They only saw the rough, violent life she'd led, the cargo she'd stolen-from some of them personally-the laws she'd broken that were punishable by hanging. A sentance she and her sisters would have recieved if not for Inuyasha,whose love for Kikyo had saved them all.

A cold tremor ran over her skin. Try as she might to ignore her fears, she could never escape her past intirely. Kagura's accusation forsed her anxiety into the open, forced her to look at it and remeber when all she wanted to do was forget. Kikyo had always taken precautions during thier time at sea, but Sango had been wild and reckless, always searching for a fight. And Sesshomaru, he's loved the sea and the freedom it gave him. Of all of them, he had loved thier nomatic life the most.

she squeezed her eyes closed. She couldn't think about Sesshomaru again, or how much she once loved him. _That time is over,_ she firmly told herself. _Over and buried. I'm to be married soon. I'll have a husband, a home . . . _

Truning away, Kagome headed for the bow as it pitched it's nose into the air. The sea swelled and rolled the hull beneath her feet. Behind her, she heard a dyingmoan that ended with an unladylike curse. An old reprimand sprang to her lips; cursing hadn't been allowed abroad thier pirate ship,_ Sea Queen,_ but she didn't think Kagura would care to be admonished right now.

Folding her hands at her waist and adjusting her step to the ship's sway, she kept walking.

"I'm not finished with you yet," Kagura called after her.

Kagome blew out a breath when her heard the sound of unsteady footsteps. She hoped it was one of the crew following her, but she knew the men to be barefoot, wearing their traditional wide-legged sailors pants and dirty striped shirts. Not soft leather boots with dainty little heels. Reaching the bow, she kept her face into the wind, not caring that her hair pulled loose of its twisted knot to tangle behind her. She must fix it soon, she thought distantly; a lady never allowed herself to be seen with her hair undone-regardless that grubby sailors were the only ones to see it.

"I don't see what Naraku sees in you," Kagura said, the desperation in her voice tugging at Kagome'd guilt. "You must have lied to him. He know you're a pirate-"

_Was_ a pirate, Kagome wanted to interject. A long, long time ago.

"-I told him about the horrid things you've done. What fib did you tell him? He's an honorable man. He never would have asked for you unless you tricked him with a lie." Angry tears shimmered in Kagura's eyes. "He shoudl be my fieance. _Mine!_"

"I'm sorry, Kagura."

"I don't want your pity."

"I told him the truth." Kagome wished her voice were stronger, wished there were some way she could lessen the woman's anger and obvious pain. The only way to do that was to break off her engagment with Naraku, and that she couldn't do.

"You version of the truth, which is no truth at all."

Kagome held her tongue, realizing it would do no good to repeat what she told Naraku. He hadn't asked about her past, but she'd felt compelled to explain. If they were to have a happy life together, he had to know everything, beginning with the day a horrific storm nearly distroyed Dunmore, the fishing village where she'd been born. A pirate ship had washed into their cove, frighting then with it's sheer size and presence. Would they be attacked and murdered? Or meerly robbed of what few belongings they had left? But the vessel had been abandoned, a floating ghost ship.

Her village had been on the verge of starvation. With their crops destroyed by the king's soldiers and their fishing boats sitting at the bottom of the North Sea, the elders had desided to abandon their homes and move to London. Kikyo had opposed their decision, terrified they's all become beggars, living in the streets. But there hadn't been any other alternative.

Except for the _Sea Queen_.

Pirating had seemed an unlikely option for three young sisters and a handful of aging men, but they'd set sail nonetheless, saving Dunmore and their homes. Their very lives.

At the time it had seened like their only choice, but now, Kagome wondered if there hadn't been another path they could have chosen, one that wouldn't have put them at such a risk. Feeling Kagura's spitful glare she pushed the thought away. There was nothing to be doone about her past now, she reaffirmed. And it didn't matter now. She would be a married woman sioon, and Naraku didn't care about her past as a pirate.

"_England might know about your escapades on board the _Sea Queen," he'd told her before sailing to America two months ago, secure that she would soon join him. "_But no one in Bostoin need know."_

He wanted to forget about her past as much as she did. For that alone, she could come to love him. She would have her new beginning. Only two more weeks and she'd be reuinited with her fiance. A week following that, she would be his wife. She'd have her new life, her new husband and her own special place to belong. For the first time ever, everything would be perfect.

Kagura's sharp toungue could threaten her happiness, but fortunately Kagura wasn't staying in Medford, rahter traveling futher south to a town called Abington where she had relatives.

Desiding it was best to ignore her, Kagome focused on the horizon. The seas were becoming restless, gathering force with the surging wind. Tilting her head back, she studied the sky. When she'd been little more than a child on board the _Sea Queen_, she'd had a way of predicting the weather, knowing if brewing clouds held a storm, or just a fiistful of wind.

A band of thin, hazy white clouds had gathered off to the east, building speed beneath the dazzling blue sky. Behind them, hours away yet, thicker, peat-colored clouds billowed like soup bubbling in a cook pot.

"Shortly after nightfall," Kagome mused out loud. "Or it could strike as late as midnight." Kagome had to warn Captain Peters to batten down the ship.

"What did you say?" Kagura Demanded.

Kagome glanced at the woman and noted that while her mouth was still pinched tight, color had returned to her cheeks. Evidently her anger had taken her mind off her sick stomach. "You should go below and get some rest. A storm is coming."

The fire drained from Kagura's cheeks. She glared at the sky. "You're just trying to frighten me. The day couldn't be any clearer."

Off the starboard side, Kagome spotted a flash of white canvas, another ship on the same heading as the _Maiden Fair_. She watched it struggle against the building waves, it's three masses full of sail, driving the vessel at a reckless pace. She'd lived through too many stroms to know that this was just the beginning. The captain other the other ship nedded to furl her sails, bring his ship under control or he'd never survive.

The nerves in her stomach pulled tight. _This was my last time at sea. Once I reach Boston, nothing will ever make me go near the ocean again._

"Excuse me," Kagome said absently, alternately watching the other vessel and the sky. "I need to speak with the captain."

Leaving the woman gaping after her, Kagome made a list of things that needed to be done to secure the _Maiden Fair_. A list she made out of habit. It suprised her how readily her long-forgotten duty came back to her. Though tension coiled in the back of her neck, she was relieved that in this instant her experience would serve her well.

She was going to reach Boston and marry Naraku Akuma, she vowed, and _nothing_, not Kagura's animosity or a tampermental storm, was going to stop her.


	3. Chapter Two

Hi, Silver here, short for Silver Moon Vampire, I have desided that ever if this takes me the whole year I'm _going_ to finish this...unlike my other stories!-'

Summary: In 1760's England, three daring sisters defy the conventions of their day-by boldly taking to the sea to champion noble causes. Each will meet a man who embraces both her beauty and her proud spirit. And each will find a love more precious than any pirate's treasure... THE HEART NEVER FORGETS Kagome Higurashi's turbulant childhood had made her certain of one thing: she would wed for security, even if it meant a loveless marriage to a wealthy Boston merchant. But her plans quickly went awry when the ship carrying her to her intended was raided by pirates-led by the only man she ever loved. Five years had passes since their swahbuckling days together, when Sesshomaru Tashio had treated her as little more than a younger sister. Now he's smuggling goods for the rebels of the American Revolution-and inspiring a shared passion as intense as the war that rages all around them. Still, Kagome has been promised to another-and she knows that her beloved Sesshomaru can never give her the security she yearns for. If only her heart would believe it...

Okay, on with it then...

**Chapter Two**

_"_Kagome! Wake up, for God's sake wake up!"

The franic voice and the jarring of her shoulder snapped Kagome out of her deep, dreamless sleep. She sat upright and blinked against the flickering light. Disorientated, it took her a few seconds to remember she was on the _Maiden Fair_.

The hull groaned around her, a load, forbidding sound that nearly masked the roaring wind and sky-breaking thunder. Rain pelted the deck above ina battering down-pour. How she'd slept though a ragging gale she didn't know, and had no time to wonder. The ship keeled to the right, and would have tossed her from her bed had she not gripped the corner of her bunk. She presed her other hand to the side of the ship, half afraid the copper rivets would tear freeThe wooden strakes would splinter against the ocean's pressure, ripping a hole through the ship'sbelly. If she were aboard the _Sea Queen_, she wouldn't have worried about this vessel's soundness, but she had no idea if the _Maiden Fair _would withstand the strain.

"I'm dying," Kagura cried, her voice reed thin and shaking. "Please, help me."

Kagome turned away from the hull, and for the first time saw Kagura sitting on the floor in a nook between the bed and the opposite wall, knees drawn up to her chest her face waxen, her hand bone white from clenching the candle.

"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked, though she knew the answer.

Trembling in her night rail, without a shawl to protect her from the biting cold, the younger woman wept, "You're a pirate. You've been through this before. Are we going to sink?"

"Of course not. It's just a storm."

"I almost wish we would. My stomach . . . How could my mother do this to me? Is there nothing you can do to help me? Please, Kagome . . ."

Jumping to her feet, she took Kagura by the arms and helped her onto her bed. She took the candle from the womans grip and blew it out. Darkness swept into the room, sealing it, intensifying the sounds of blustering wind, the ragging force if the sea.

"What have you done?" Kagura gasped, panicking. "We need the light."

"Candles cause fires, especially durring a time like this." As if to prove her point, the ship took a vicious lurch. Kagura screamed; Kagome threw herself over the girl and held them both down. Once the hull leveled, she pulled the blankets up and tucked them around Kagura's body.

"There's plenty of water to be had," she said, trying to sound calm, but her hands were shaking and her skin felt tight anf clammy with sweat. Memories of past storms came rushing back; whip-cracking liighting, shipmates tossed like stixks in the wind, the _Sea Queen _ravaged of sails and mast. They'd never lost a crewman but that hadn't lessen her fear.

"Should we start a fire by accident," Kagome said, ignoring the chill biting deep in her bones, "the crew is too busy to put it out."

"I hadn't thought-" She doubled over, moaning into the pillow.

Feeling Kagura's damp brow, Kagome doubted the woman would retch even if she tried. She hadn't been able to eat more than a spoonful of broth at each meal since leaving London. there wasn't much she could do to ease Kagura's seasickness, but she had to try.

There wasn't any lavander to make a soothing tea, but maybe there was something else. "Wait here."

"Don't leave me," she whimpered, but Kagome slipped on her robe and hurried out the door, closing it behind her.

Wind blased though the hallway, whistling in her ears, flattening her gown to her body. Groping the walls, she dug in with her fingers, finding notches in the wood to keep her balance. She listened for shouts from above, bellowing orders for the helmsmen to keep the bow into the wind, barking commands for men to work with the pumps. But there was only thw wind tearing through the corridor, obliterating all but its howl.

Lightning flashed, throwing grayish light through the hatchway ahead of her. Except for the shadowed doorways and cold lanturns swinging from their hooks, she was alone. There should be saliors about, she thought frantically, gripping onto a doorjamb as the ship shuddered against a wave. Everyone must be above deck, she realized, working to keep the riggings tied, fighting the wheel, saving sails of they tore loose from their yards. Still, she wished she could hear someone, see someone.

She hurried forward, the floor icy and wet beneath her bare feet. The chilled air swept beneath her gown and rope, swirling around her legs. She had to reach the galley, one level down from her cabin. She might find laudanum there, and if not that, whiskey. Considering the severity if the storm, and sensing it could last for hours yet, rendering Kagura unconscious might be the most humane thing she could do.

Reaching the ladder, she esitated in decending and looked up through the hatchway. Stinging rain burned her skin, the cold piercing hot. It stole her breath. A gush of salty water poured through the opening, soaking her face, the bodice of her gown, both her sleeves. She gasped, shivering as the frigid wetness cut through her chest like a knife. But she spotted several crewman gripping the capstan, though they couldn't be using the pulley to bring up cargo from below, not in this storm. So what were they doing?

They weren't wearing their baggy cargo calico trousers and striped shirts, but the dark pants, knee-high boots and long black coats. With their and beards plastered to their faces. She didn't recognize, them, but that was to be expected.

_They have things well in hand._ Only slighty relieved, she turne away and hurried down the companionway. She'd ridden out countless storms before, but she swore this would be her last.

"Once my feet touch Boston soil, I'll be there to stay," she muttered to herself.

She rushed through the lower deck as fast as she could, bumping into walls as the ship thrashed and swayed. Crates had come loose from their tied, scattering across the corridor, some breaking open to spill their contents-which she tripped over, nearly skidding onto her knees.

Finally, she found the galley. Rubbing her hands over her arms to suppress the shilvers, she felt her way past a basin that seved as a sink. Besides that, she found the iron stove, cold now and missing the enormous pit that normally hung from a netal hook, bubbling with some creation the cook had invented.

The small, cramped room had a window the size of a cannon port, closed now, and she didn't dare open it, though some light would help speed up her search. She sould have brought the candle, she thought belateedly. But no matter. If there was whiskey to be had, she'd find it.

She opened the cabnit door and gasped when the ship lurched. She expected the contents to tumble out, crash around her bare feet, but a metal bar kept everything secured on its self. She slid her fingers over glass jars, too short she thought for liquor. Spices perhaps, or a ration of sugar.

She shearched each shelf, finding nothing, her anxiety building with each jarring pull of the ship. How much more could the _Maiden Fair_ endure? The vessel had to withstand the storm, _it had to;_ she hadn't braved Wilmouth, found a perfext fiance and crossed half the ocean only to drown at sea.

Stretching to reach the top self, her hand closed around a tall, narrow bottle. Pulling it down, she removed the stopper, sniffed and whispered "thank you" to the heavens. Brandy, if her guess was right.

Replacing the stopper, keeping her balance with the rocking floor, she started to turn. A rough hand clamped over her mouth. Her heart lurched to her throat, shutting off her scream. She smelled sweat and dirt. He pressed harder, muffling the rush of her breath. A solid arm locked around her waist, pinning both her arms to her sides, lifting her off her feet.

Kagome twisted, tried to break free, tried to scream, but her hoarse cry was buried beneath the sounds of the angry sea. She jabbed her elbow into her attacker's side. He grunted, but didn't release her. She sturck out with her feet, found only air. He squeezed her ribs, cutting off her breath.

"Stop fight'n'," the smooth male vioce ordered.

She wanted to smash the bottle of brandy over his head, but he had her trapped. She couldn't move. If he chose, he could easilt snap her neck in two. She stilled, heard the quick rasp of his breath in her ear, felt his eyes on her watching, inspecting.

"That's better." He eased his hand from her mouth enough for her to speak.

"Who . . . who are you?"

"Just a visitor."

A visitor? She knew the other passangers aboard the _Maiden Fair._ A minister and his wife, two bisinessmen, a family of five setting out to build their new home in the colonies; none of them would do this to her. It had to be one of Captain Peter's men. Yet, she found that hard to believe. In three weeks she'd been on board, none of the saliors had made any advances or untoward comments. Why would one dare do so now? The answer occured to her. With the rest of the crew fighting the ship and the storm, who would stop him from doing whatever it was he intended?

Kagome shivered with equal amounts of fear and fury. For once she wished she'd taken Sango's advice, given before Kagome had sailed for America. _Wear the _Sea Queen_ blade at all times. You'll never know when you'll need it._

Well she nedded it now, but it was locked in her trunk, buried under a pile of slik gowns. Even if she had the blade, she wouldn't know how to use it. But she had other skills. Weather they would help her now, she had no clue.

"You've no right to manhandle me in this manner," she reprimanded in the sternest vioce she could manage with her feet dangling a foot off the ground. "I demand you release me at once, or i'll report you to Captain Peters."

"Will ye now?" He chuckled, a soft mocking sound.

A chill swept over Kagome. The threat should have made the man obey at once. Captain Peters kept his men in line through equal amounts of repect and fear, knowing they would be punished- undoubtedly with a cat-o-nine-tails- if they crossed that line. If this man wasn't afraid for his captain. she had to think of another way to escape. But how? If only she could see him, read his intent in his eyes. But it was as dark as a tomb in the galley.

He took the bottle from her. She heard a faint pop, and realized he had pulled the stopper loose with his teeth. He upened the bottle, and took a deep drink, then sighed.

"This is what I've been look'n' for." He laughed and turned toward the hall, carrying her with him as if she were a rag doll. "Find'n' you was just a bonus."

"What do you think you're doing? Let me go!" Kagome flailed her legs, reached out for the wall, the basin, the jars of sugar, anything she could pry herself free or use as a weapon. Her fingers closed around teh doorjamb, but one forceful tug from her captor and she lost her hold, breaking her nails in the process.

Once in the narrow passageway, he started toward the ship's stern, The floor bucked beneath his feet; he crashed into the wall, losing his grip in her. The instant her feet touched the gound, Kagome turned to flee. He snared her arm before she took two steps, spun her around anf caught her stomach with his shoulder, heaving her up like a sack of grain.

"Put me down!" She beat her fist against his back, knowing it would do no good. What did her plan to do with her? Lock her away? She prayed that were so, because the alternatice turned her blood cold with fear. _I won;t let him rape me. I won't!_ She'd fight, scratch his eyes out. She may not be the swordsman Sango was, but she wouldn't give up and let this man molest her.

Reaching a ladder, he climbed it with ease, then continued down the corridor.

"If you put me down right now," Kagome said, "I'll forget all about this."

"I intend tae put ye down, luv." His large hand tightened on her thiegh, and she had to grit her teeth to keep from screaming in outrage. "When I'm ready."

He opened a door and her heart lurched against her chest. Light flooded the hallway, giving her a glimpse of the stairs. As soon as he lowered her, she would run. She wouldn't let this man abuse her; she'd fight, scream for help. Someone would hear and come to aid her.

"Look at what I found, Capt'n," her captor boasted.

Captain? Outrage burst through Kagome's panic. Captain Peters would allow his man to behave like a savage, capturing her as if she were a prize? Then the reality of the situation hit her.If the captain approved of a crewman abducting a passanger, what did it mean for her?

The man bent, setting her on the floor. Kagome wipped around, filling her lungs with air to demand an explaination. The words froze in her throat.

Captain Peters, wearing nothing but brown leggings, was lying on his bed, his mouth gagged with a red cloth, his hands and arms bound by a knotted rope. He shook his head at her, and tried to talk, but the rag muffled his urgent words. The ruddy skin around his left eye was swollenand turning purple with a bruise.

"Captain-my God, what- what's going on?" she stammered, starting forward to free him.

"Well I'll be damned."

A vioce from the past, a vioce ger thought she'd never hear again had her spinning to face a wall of pitch-black windows, and a ghpst from her past.

"You . . . you . . ." There didn't seem to be enough air in the room for her to draw a full breath and finish what she meant to say. Her mind tipped, or perhaps it was the ship. In any case, she fely numb from inside out. "It can't be."

"It's good to see you too, Angel." She flinched at the endearment he used to call her when she'd been a child. The suprize in his golden eyes quicky vanished, leaving a hardness she didn't recognize. Her eyes gazed his silver hair, wild about his shoulders, his strong and towering body. He smiled, a cocky pull of his lips, a tease seduction that sent a warm shiver down her back. She remembered that smirk well; it belonged to the man she'd loved for mearly all her life.

But how could he be here now? And why?

"Sesshomaru Tashio," she finally managed. "It's been a long time."

But not long enough. Not nearly long enough to forget him.

A breath shuddered out of her, a tremor that held both a warning of tears and anger. Against her will, her feet moved towards him, closing the narrow space. For five years she hadn't known where he was, had waited daily for word from him. And when she hadn't, she assumed the worst- that he's drownd at sea. She struggled to put him in the past. But now she knew the truth. He was _alive._

Her heart thudded against her chest, so hard she thought he ought to hear it, if not see the force of it beating. Stopping within a foot of him, she stared at his clean-shaved jaw, hard and tanned from the sun, his well-shaped nose, his eyes that had long ago reached inside her and stolen a part of her heart.

The she did the one thing she swore she'd do if she ever saw him again.

She reached out and slapped him.


End file.
